Rishi Sunak bet: Prime Minister accused of breaching ministerial code over £1,000 Rwanda bet with Piers Morgan

Rishi Sunak has made the Rwanda plan central to his promise to “stop the boats” and curb migrant crossings in the Channel

Rishi Sunak has been been accused of committing a potential breach of the ministerial code as he was criticised for a “depraved” bet with broadcaster Piers Morgan over whether flights will take off to Rwanda.

The TalkTV presenter offered the Prime Minister a £1,000 bet that ministers would not be able to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. Mr Sunak shook hands with Mr Morgan and appeared to accept the wager.

“I’ll bet you £1,000 to a refugee charity you don’t get anybody on those planes before the election,” Mr Morgan told the prime minister.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak walks through the local streets during a visit to Winchester, England. Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

The SNP has sent a letter to Sir Laurie Magnus, the independent adviser on ministers’ interests, as well as Cabinet Secretary Simon Case calling for an investigation.

SNP Cabinet Office spokesperson Kirsty Blackman described Mr Sunak betting money on whether he can send vulnerable refugees abroad ahead of the election as “grotesque” and claimed the PM may have breached ministerial code rules on avoiding conflicts with private interests as well as the Nolan Principles of Public Life.

"It's particularly shameful that Rishi Sunak, one of the richest men in the UK, thinks it's appropriate to accept a £1,000 wager – and will remind ordinary working families that near billionaire Sunak doesn't have a clue what life is like for the rest of us in a cost-of-living crisis,” she said.

"It also appears to be a clear breach of the ministerial code and the high standards that people should expect of those in public life, not least the most powerful person in Westminster.”

Mr Sunak has made the Rwanda plan central to his promise to “stop the boats” and curb migrant crossings in the Channel. But time is running out for Mr Sunak to get flights in the air, with the House of Lords able to significantly stall his Rwanda legislation and jeopardise an ambition to have removal flights leaving by the spring.

The SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, in a post on X, said: “The lives of some of the most vulnerable people on the planet reduced to a crude bet. It’s just a game to these people. Depraved.”

Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth said: “Not a lot of people facing rising mortgages, bills and food prices are casually dropping £1,000 bets. It just shows that Rishi Sunak is totally out of touch with working people.”

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “I think what the Prime Minister’s saying, and obviously what is clear coming through from that interview, is the Prime Minister’s absolute confidence that we’ll get flights off the ground.”

The official pointed to the timetable previously set out by Mr Sunak, which is “by the spring”.

The spokesman batted off questions on whether Mr Sunak is setting a good example when the Government is taking a hard line on gambling.

“I think he’s focused on doing what is needed to deliver on the priorities for the British people,” he said.

Scottish Green justice spokesperson Maggie Chapman described the bet as “utterly vile”.

“Every time it seems like this Prime Minister has hit rock bottom, he falls even further,” she said. “It’s the sort of thing that satirists wouldn’t go near as it would seem too grotesque and unbelievable.

“This isn’t a game. The Rwanda deportation policy is one of the most vindictive and disgraceful anti-migrant policies ever dreamt up by a UK government.

“Safe routes and humanity are needed more than ever, but the Prime Minister has made clear that he is more concerned with dehumanising gimmicks and merrily treating human lives like a twisted game show than he is with international law.”